Alec Douglas left us far too soon at the young age of 34,
leaving behind many family members, including his two children,
daughter, Callie, and son, Dane.

I had the good fortune to first meet Alec by chance three years
ago, while serving as manager for a AA Gig Harbor Little League
team. One of the tasks at the younger-age teams is having to draft
the team fresh each year, and with that comes the often
mind-boggling task of rating hundreds of kids during a daylong
turnout.

You get a few minutes to watch a child catch, throw, hit and run
and the only sane way to maintain some sense of judgment is to
ignore the names and faces and reduce it to a game of numbers.
During that time in 2008, I saw one particular 9-year-old that I
had not taken notice of in previous years. Unlike many of the other
kids running around the field, his demeanor was all about work and
his face showed a focus and determination I didn’t see elsewhere on
the field. That was Dane.

It was an easy choice to place him at the top of my list and
when I was fortunate enough to draw the first pick in the draft,
Dane became the top draft choice. At that time I had no idea I was
also drafting an experienced umpire in his dad, to our team. How
fortunate that turned out to be.

As another manager noted recently, Alec was never one to say no,
so when I asked if he would help out with the team, he jumped right
in.

At the end of a very fun season of baseball, Alec and I agreed
to team up together to coach a AAA team the following year. But
those plans fell through when I was passed over to be a manager the
next season. Our two sons drifted to different teams and we crossed
paths only occasionally when Alec would ump a game we were
playing.

We were reunited again this year when our sons joined the same
select team. It was good to catch up with the two of them, and to
see how Alec was still deeply involved as a volunteer with umpiring
(as well as coaching in youth football).

As both a coach and a parent, it was good to have Alec be a part
of the team as he helped fulfill team requirements to umpire games
as well as being able to explain to the boys specific calls. But it
was also sometimes a bane when he would umpire one of our games, as
he always seemed to call his son’s pitches a little tighter than he
would other pitchers.

No doubt he did this as part of the routine of most other
father/volunteers in giving that little extra effort to assure that
he was not favoring his son over others.

Three days before Alec died, we had a scrimmage for our select
team with another team in our organization and Alec — of course —
volunteered to umpire. I’m no umpire and I don’t know what
compelled me to do so, but that day I asked Alec if he wanted some
help with me umpiring the bases.

He accepted and gave me the two-minute crash course of umpiring
that he took weeks to develop each spring.

He told me I had the tags and bags on 1 and 2 and tags on 3. I
nodded affirmatively, not wanting to let on that he’d already lost
me as he ran down a quick list of regulations.

He finished by saying there were three rules to abide by, above
all else.

“Don’t overrule me and I won’t overrule you,” he started. “And
don’t rush to make the call. See it through to the end of the play
and then make a call.

“And always remember, once you make a call, stand by it,” he
said.

Three days later when word of his passing first reached me, his
gameday advice came back to me, his baritone voice still giving
those words weight in my head.

This child’s game has often been used as a metaphor for life.
And I’ve come to realize in the days since, how Alec’s words reach
far beyond the game of baseball.

And so I tell you, from the limited perspective I have from the
few short years I’ve known Alec, he will truly be missed by all
those involved in Gig Harbor youth sports. I feel privileged and
honored to have had the chance to get to know Alec and Dane. And I
look forward to watching Dane’s progress as he continues to grow
and develop in the Gig Harbor youth sports world.

That’s my call and I stand by it.

Ric Hallock is managing editor of Gig Harbor Life and has
coached youth baseball, football and soccer since moving to Gig
Harbor in 2004.

This entry was posted
on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 2:21 pm by Ric Hallock and is filed under Child's Play, View of the City.
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About This Blog

Gig Harbor, nestled in the northwest corner of Pierce County, snugly between Tacoma and Bremerton, is fast shedding its small-town demeanor as people seeking to escape the hectic pace, congested traffic and high cost of living in the big city continue to “discover” the fishing village in the harbor. With the influx of population, Gig Harbor continues to morph and develop, coming of age — as it were — as it defines its place among the many communities that dot the waters up and down Puget Sound. Kitsap Sun Special Sections Managing Editor Ric Hallock (whose responsibilities include Gig Harbor Life), lives in Gig Harbor and finds that reason enough to blog on living, breathing and spending money in the Maritime City.